


Smiles

by entanglednow



Category: Primeval
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-02-28
Updated: 2009-02-28
Packaged: 2017-11-07 06:42:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/428070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/entanglednow/pseuds/entanglednow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stephen is crouched, ninja-like, ready for action, while Connor is sprawled, in a long streak of insect innards, like the punch line of a slapstick comedy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Smiles

When the giant dragonfly hits the wall for the final time, before sliding down to end in a twitching wet heap, Connor and Stephen both end up on the floor too, though granted, Stephen is crouched ninja-like, ready for action, and Connor is sprawled in a long streak of insect innards, like the punch line of a slapstick comedy.

He's still getting his knees under him, mourning the loss of another, perfectly good, pair of jeans while Stephen is already up, leaning over his prize, like he's been hunting it all morning, rather than just following its confused, and heavily labored, bursts of flight.

"Help me," Stephen says, and Connor honestly doesn't know whether its a question, or a demand because he's _smiling_ , a white slice of distraction that forces Connor to his feet, wiping sticky hands on his jeans, and trying to decide if picking the thing up by its legs is a wise move. The wings are crumpled wrecks, tattered and crushed together, and the long tail segments are still twitching ever so faintly.

They might end up holding just the legs.

But that's how Stephen goes in, fearless and still smiling, hands on the wet branches of its legs, gripping, and then when Connor slides his hands into place too, lifting with him. He gets it up to his knees, while Stephen works to make it look easy on the other side. But he waits for him anyway, unhurried, white goo on the edge of his jaw, one sleeve pushed up in tacky little ripples. But he's still smiling. He'd almost forgotten that Stephen could be like this. Warm, loose, funny. But then he can't remember the last time an anomaly vomited out anything that wasn't all _claws and teeth_. Connor can't remember the last time they just got to be scientists, the last time they just got to be _amazed_ about what they did _._ The last time they got to just _touch_ things.

The thing shouldn't weigh as much as it does. It contradicts all insect biology, by being this heavy. Early insects like the Meganeura (which this might be at least a cousin of, possibly an early ancestor? Because it's much bigger than it's supposed to be,) were only supposed to have survived due to the oxygen rich atmosphere, but no amount of oxygen could have ever let this thing fly. Connor would bet on it being a physical impossibility-

Only it had flown, for a while, well crashed into walls, mostly, while slowly starving for oxygen-

The leg slips in his right hand, and he swears, re-adjusts his grip, while Stephen takes its weight. Hands briefly skidding over his. Stephen's hands are slippery as well, he's too action hero to wear rubber gloves, so Connor can feel where his nails briefly dig into his skin, the bend of his knuckles under arthropod tail segments. And the thought of that wouldn't normally be something that he finds distracting, _really weird_ yes, distracting, not so much.

It's closer than Stephen usually lets people get, it's new and different, the closeness. Like maybe he's decided they're better friends than they were yesterday.

Connor would kind of like to know what he did to earn that.

Stephen laughs, a quick burst of sound, and Connor's close enough to feel it move his hair, but he doesn't let go of the legs, helps Stephen move it up onto the table, where it sits in a crumpled, half-contracted heap. It seems to have stopped its twitching.

"Nice work," Stephen says warmly, and taps his cheek, warm fingers still faintly tacky.

Connor decides he doesn't mind at all.


End file.
